OMAHA, Neb. –Creighton junior Becca Changstrom earned a spot on the Capital One Academic All-America Division I Softball Third Team, as voted on by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) the organization announced Thursday.

Changstrom, the 2013 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Pitcher of the Year, owned a 3.85 cumulative grade point average in chemistry through her first five semesters on campus.

The Academic All-America honor is the first for Changstrom and the first by a Bluejay softball player since 2010. After being recognized as a First Team All-District VII member earlier this month, she beat out student-athletes from across the country on a national ballot to be recognized as an Academic All-America selection. Changstrom is the only representative from an MVC school to claim the prestigious honor.

The right-handed pitcher recently earned MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team honors and a selection to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Midwest Region Second Team. Changstrom also claimed All-MVC First Team and MVC All-Tournament Team honors after she won the pitching triple crown in Valley play in 2013 with 13 wins, 133 strikeouts and a 1.34 ERA.

Changstrom posted 10 strikeouts or more on 12 different occasions this season. She ended the regular season leading the Valley in overall games for ERA (1.70), strikeouts (254), opposing batting average (.192) and wins (22).

This year the Lincoln, Neb., native joined former CU aces Tara Oltman and Tammy Nielsen as just the third Bluejay pitcher to record 200 K’s in a single season. Changstrom’s average of 8.8 strikeouts per seven innings stands at No. 21 in the NCAA while her strikeout total of 254 ranks No. 27 nationally.

Creighton, the 2013 MVC regular-season champion, finished the year with a record of 29-18.

To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at her current institution and be nominated by her sports information director.